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Department reacts to firefighter video

The Milwaukee Fire Department is considering a policy change after a WISN 12 News story featured helmet-camera video shot by a firefighter during a working fire.

The video posted on YouTube captured scenes from an apartment fire earlier this week at 87th Street and Fond du Lac Avenue. It showed a unique view of what firefighters face when working an active scene.

Deputy Chief Randall Zingler said that while cutting edge technology can produce amazing images, he believes it may have gotten ahead of their policies.

"The biggest concern we have is a citizen's right to privacy," he said. "If you're at a fire and videotaping something in their personal residence, there's a concern for that."

Zingler said the firefighter who shot the video is not in any trouble because the video didn't take him away from his duties, nor is there a current policy against it. But he said the department is developing one. And while the video may not have been the best decision, it does show the value of such technology for future training.

"You saw the firefighter entering the building and what they were encountering inside," he said. "It was a pretty intense action-filled video that did give a pretty good glimpse of what it's like for our firefighters. And they do this all the time."

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